Device in two-axled carriages



Aug. 15, 1961 E. v. ASPENBERG 2,996,018

DEVICE IN TWO-AXLED CARRIAGES Filed April 4, 195 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

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DEVICE IN TWO-AXLED CARRIAGES Filed April 4, 195'. 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

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Aug. 15, 1961 v, ASPENBERG 2,996,018

DEVICE IN TWO-AXLED CARRIAGES Filed April 4, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 La 4Q 2d 4 2c huezator L. lids Q fizz/Z2 (21? NW (g W United States Patent2,996,018 DEVICE [N TWO-AXLED CARRIAGES Erik Vilhelm Aspenberg,Linkoping, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget SvenskaJarnvagsverkstaderna, Linkoping,

Sweden, a joint-stock company of Sweden Filed Apr. 4, 1957, Ser. No.650,720 Claims priority, application Sweden Apr. 13, 1956 3 Claims. (Cl.105-3) Most of the railway carriages used for passanger railway carshave four axles, that is, they run on bogies, the result being heavy andcomplicated structures and an elevated centre of gravity. Railwaycarriages of this type are expensive to manufacture, to run and tomaintain in proper working condition.

A natural solution of the problem of producing lighter and simplercarriage structures is to change over to using carriages with two axles.Then the difliculty will arise, when a relatively long carriage withgreat distance between the axles is employed, that a smooth run is to becombined with the capability of travelling around curves. In earlier,comparatively short two-axled carriages travelling around curves wasmade possible by using link axles and by utilising the sine curve run.The term link axles represents conventional spring devices like thoseapplied to wagons for transporting goods and provided with two axles.The expression sine curve run designates that which arises due to theconicity of the wheel rings and the axial play in the bearings causingoscillations of the car body. Thus, the result was a jerky anduncomfortable ride, which gradually made it necessary to begin to usebogies, when, owing to the short distance between the axles, axles instationary guides could be used. Therefore, in order to obtain areasonably smooth run, insofar as a two-axled carriage is concerned, theearlier principle of using link axles must be dispensed with and it mustbe seen to it that the plane of the wheel moves in a tangent to therail. The dificulty of making an axle which is movable to a certaindegree in a horizontal plane, fulfilling the condition therefor, isevident.

This problem can be solved by connecting the wheel axle firmly to thecorresponding axle in the next carriage so that the two axles areparallel. When the carriage reaches a curve the carriage bodies make atwist in rela tion to the axles connected in the manner stated, whichrun on the rail as a bogie common to the two coupled carriages close toeach other. In the same way, as in a bogie, the axles will adjustthemselves in such a manner that the wheels in their plane tend to falltangent to the rail. According to the above device freely rotatingwheels can be used, as, owing to the short distance between the axles,the angle between the plane of the wheel and the rail will never be sogreat that there will be risk of climbing.

To connect two two-axled carriages by means of two neighbouring runninggears is already known, but the two running gears coupled together to abogie of earlier known embodiments have, however, when travelling arounda curve, the same qualities as usual bogies, for example the qualitythat the rail itself, through the action of one of the wheel flanges,forces the bogie to assume the angle necessary for the curve. Therunning gears according to the present invention have horizontallyacting resilient elements, which, when the running gear is free and notcoupled to the next carriage, holds the running gear in centralposition. When the running gear is coupled together to form a bogie, andthe carriages travel in a curve, an advantageous situation arises, whichwill be described below.

Patented Aug. 15, 1961 In an embodiment of the said resilient elementsthese are combined with a mounting of the carriage body on the runninggear. Then they consist of springs with horizontal as well as verticalmobility and effect and they may be mounted outside the wheels ontraverse yokes, two for each axle end. The horizontal effect of thesprings finally can be extended so as to allow merely lateral motionbetween the carriage body and the running gears. Such lateral motion ismostly desired in order to obtain a smooth run laterally.

Two running gears coupled together in accordance with this invention areshown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing. FIG. 1 shows a planview of the running gears belonging to two cars coupled together andrunning in a straight direction, certain parts being in section, andFIG. 2 shows an end view of a part of the running gear. FIG. 3 shows aplan view of the running gears like FIG. 1 but in their mutual positionswhen passing a curve. FIGS. 4 and 5 show in greater detail theconstruction of a yoke, rubber support elements, and wheel bearingelements. The two running gears of the said embodiment are supposed tobe identical and are described in United States Patent Nos. 2,949,194and 2,958,297.

Reference numerals 1 and 6 designate cross beams and longitudinal beamsof the under frame of each car 2, 2a, 2b designate the wheels and 3 theaxles of the wheels. 2c, 2d, 2e designate roller bearings between thewheels 2- and the axles 3. At each end of the axles there is mounted ayoke 4. The said yoke consists of a metal element 4b, U-shaped insection, which is secured to the axleii on a sleeve 4a which, in turn,is disposed on the end of the axle. Over the sleeve 4a there is locatedan inverted U-shaped reinforcing element 40, the flanges of which arefixed to the flanges of the yoke 4 by welding, for instance. Referencenumeral 5 designates two torsion spring rods, each of which is mountedalong its respective under frame beam 6. Each torsion spring rod has oneend fixed to a shaft 7 which is pivotally mounted in bearings 8, ofwhich one at each side of the frame is attached to a projection 8aextending from beam 6, and the other is positioned on a cross beam 1a inthe frame. Reference numeral 14 designates transversely extendingprojections in the form of levers mounted on the shaft 7. Each of thelevers 14 is disposed at one side of the car axle 3 and rests at one endon spring or rubber elements 15 and 16 provided on yoke 4. The other endof the torsion spring rod is mounted in a hub 10 connected to a lever 11utilized for adjusting the the floor height of the carriage in themanner described below. The hub is pivotally mounted in a sleeve 12attached to a cross beam 1b at the frame beam 6. Across the end of eachlever 11 there is a vertical bolt 11a (see FIG. 3) which is pressedagainst a suitable surface under the car body. Thus, by means of atleast four such bolts 11a the height of the card body can be adjusted.This adjustment is carried out as follows: By means of each screw 11athe end of each arm 11 is, for example, lowered in relation to the carbody. As the arm 11 is fixed to the torsion rod 5 then the rod and theaxle 7 are turned in their bearings 12 and '8, so that the arms 14 whichrest on the rubber elements 15, 16 are swung downwards in relation tothe car body. Consequently, the car body is raised. On the other hand,the car body is lowered when the end of each arm 11 is raised inrelation to the car body.

Each of the rotatable pair of wheels has a coupling head containingcoupling elements of any kind, for example of the type calledtight-lock, the exterior of which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 anddesignated by reference numeral 21. A draw bar 20 forms part of thecoupling head. The said bar has one end resiliently fixed to the rearportion of the coupling head, which rear portion is movable in a sleeve30 attached to the wheel axle 3. The structure of the interior sleeve 30is shown in United States Patent No. 2,949,l94. When coupled together,as shown in FIG. 1, the two coupling heads will engage each otherentirely, and the two connected rotatable wheel assemblages will form aunit operating in the same manner as a two-'axled railway bogie. If theconnected carriages of a pair of carriages connected to each other inthis manner move towards a curve, the front end of the front carriagewill follow the curve laterally and form an angle between the carriages.At this moment the resilient ele ments and 16, see FIGS. 2 and 3, forthe rotatable wheels, will start to function, as the resilient elementsare also movable horizontally as well as vertically. The anteriorcarriage tends with its resilient elements to turn its wheel assembly tothe same position as it has itself, and the second carriage tends torestrain its wheel assembly in its normal position crosswise of thecarriage. Then the spring elements of the carriages will counteract eachother (see FIG. 3), as th y are designed so as to have the samestillness. The result will be that the pair of wheel assemblies coupledtogether to form a bogie places itself in an intermediate positionresulting in half as great a change of angle in relation to the straightcarriage as the carriage has to the rail. If these two carriages are ona continuous curve, the pairs of wheels tend to automatically placethemselves in a position such that the longitudinal axis of the wheelassemblies will be tangent to the curve. Through this arrangement thepair of wheel assemblies will have their curve position at an earlystage, which is a great advantage for the run of the carirages and inview of the wear of the wheel flanges.

The invention is not restricted to the details shown. The resilientelements may be made in different Ways without the efiect described andaimed at being changed. Besides the invention can be applied toconnectible carriages which do not run on rails.

What I claim is:

1. In a wheel articulated bogie device for two-axled wheeled vehicles,each axle and two wheels constituting a wheel assembly, coupling meanson each axle of each vehicle so arranged that the wheel assemblies ofadjacent vehicles of similar construction may be rigidly coupledtogether to form a four-wheel bogie unit turnable in relation to thecarriages, each said wheel assembly inoluding two horizontal yokesmounted one on each end of the axle, and vertically extending resilientcompression support means mounted on each of said yokes forming the solevertical support between said vehicle and said wheel assembly, each saidresilient support means being of a substantial vertical height withrespect to its area in a horizontal plane, and of sufficient resilienceto permit substantial horizontal movement of said support means forswinging of said wheel assembly with respect to said vehicle under thetwisting action of said wheel assembly with respect to said vehicle whenthe wheel assemblies are steered around a curve, the horizontalstiffness of said support means normally holding said wheel assembly inand to return said wheel assembly to alignment with said vehicle whennot subjected to the said twisting action.

2. In an under carriage arrangement for supporting a rail vehicle body,a wheeled axle, steering means on said axle, a yoke supported on eachend of said axle, resilient support members mounted on said yokes, eachsaid resilient support member being of a substantial vertical heightwith respect to its area in a horizontal plane, and of sufficientresilience to permit substantial horizontal move ment of said member forswinging of said wheeled axle with respect to said vehicle body underthe twisting action of said wheeled axle When the wheeled axle issteered around a curve, the horizontal stiffness of said support membernormally holding said wheled axle in and returning said wheeled axle toalignment with said vehicle body when not subjected to the said twistingaction, a pair of arms for each yoke, said arms having one end supportedon said resilient memb rs, and means on the other ends of said arms forconnection to said vehicle body.

3. In an under carriage arrangement for supporting a rail vehicle body,a wheeled axle, a wheel steering coupling means mounted on said axlenormal thereto, a yoke supported on each end of said axle, resilientmembers mounted on said yokes, means on said vehicle body supported onsaid resilient members, said resilient members each being of substantialvertical height in comparison with their sectional area in a horizontalplane and of sufficient resilience to permit substantial horizontalmovement of said yokes with respect to said vehicle body under steeringaction of said wheel guiding coupling, said resilient members being ofsufi'icient horizontal stiffness to normally hold said axle in alignmentwith said vehicle body and to return said axle to alignment with thevehicle body when not subjected to steering action of said coupling.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,184,241 Huston May 23, 1916 2,109,276 Pflager Feb. 22, 1938 2,217,034Van Dorn Oct. 8, 1940 2,287,575 Sensenich June 23, 1942

